IRVING, Texas – A Maryland couple on a recent visit to North Texas got the shock of their lives last Tuesday while enjoying a meal at a restaurant in Irving. When, out of nowhere, an SUV came careening through the front glass, striking them before coming to a stop.

The couple was still traumatized as FOX 4’s Steven Dial spoke with them and their son, who was on the phone with them at the time of the crash.

What we know:

Dramatic video shows a couple seated in an Irving restaurant on Tuesday night, when, seconds later a Ford Bronco comes crashing in.

Irving police told FOX 4 that the driver thought they put the car in reverse. 

The couple had cuts and bruises from the crash, but were not seriously injured. 

What they’re saying:

 The husband, Raj Arivalahan, traveled for work and was in town with his wife. 

“That time, the car came in, I fell down, she was pushed out the other side, and I was sliding on the floor towards the end,” said the husband, Raj Arivalahan.

 “I immediately knew I was OK, and I was looking for him. I couldn’t find him for a minute. I thought I lost him,” said the wife, Kala Arrivalahan.

“So, we were just catching up, and they were eating at this restaurant. And then at about the one-minute mark, I just hear a lot of commotion happening,” said their son, Dr. Thivijan Arivalahan.

Raj tells FOX 4 that he and his wife were very fortunate.

“Fortunately, the car stopped. So I was inside the cage. It’s a kind of cage. The cage protected me, except all this pain and things, all the windows shattering. All I had was small, small cuts all over my body,” said Raj.

The family does want businesses to learn from this incident, as a similar incident also occurred in Houston this month. 

They want businesses to have barriers in parking lots. 

“I think they should do something. It should not happen to anybody in the future. That is what I am trying to promote. You know, they need to do something, even polls or something like that,” said Raj.

What’s next:

The couple told me the business was helpful to them in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

So far, the driver has not been charged.

The Source: Information in this article was provided from an interview conducted by FOX 4’s Steven Dial.

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